10 Year Sentence In Arlington Murder-For-Hire

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – It was a case that sounded more like a movie script. But it was all too real. The owner of an Arlington strip club was sentenced to 10 years behind bars and a $17,500 fine on Tuesday for the murder-for-hire plot that targeted Arlingon Mayor Robert Cluck and a Dallas attorney who represented the city in a legal battle.

Ryan Walker Grant was the owner of an Arlington strip club called Flashdancer. Federal investigators said that Grant was furious when city officials determined that the club was a nuisance and shut it down. He then hatched a plan, investigators said, to have Cluck and attorney Tom Brandt killed. Agents said that Grant used his cell phone to contact the would-be hitman.

But the person on the receiving end of those text messages was actually a confidential informant. Grant allegedly offered to pay the person $20,000 after the murders were completed. He was arrested in April 2012 after meeting with the man who he thought would carry out the hit.

Grant pled guilty in federal court last fall. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Cluck spoke at the sentencing hearing on Tuesday. The judge sentenced Grant to 10 years in jail and a $17,500 fine. As part of the plea deal, federal prosecutors dropped a weapons charge that was a part of the indictment. Grant had originally agreed to a 10-year prison term plus a $250,000 fine.

Robbie grew up in northeast Texas, in a tiny town where her family's history spans six generations.
After working in the business world for several years, Robbie received a Masters of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Me...